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Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (OREX) stock price balloons for diet pill maker

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: OREX) shares jumped 17.7% to $3.33 Wednesday, after the diet-pill developer said it would make a regulatory announcement about its obesity treatment in two days. Volume for the stock was 8.2 million shares, or more than six times its daily average.

The San Diego-based Orexigen has announced a regulatory update on Friday, June 3, before the markets open. The announcement will be followed by a live webcast and conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. No one from Orexigen management was immediately available for comment.

The company’s lead product, Contrave®, has completed Phase 3 clinical trials and has received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for its New Drug Application. The Company is in the process of determining the next steps for Contrave.

The Company’s second product, Empatic™, has completed Phase 2 clinical development. Each product candidate is designed to act on a specific group of neurons in the central nervous system with the goal of achieving appetite suppression and sustained weight loss, through combination therapeutic approaches.

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Orthovita Inc. (VITA) takes flight on sale to Stryker Corp. (SYK)

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Orthovita Inc. (Nasdaq: VITA) shares rose 40.1% to $3.83 after Stryker Corp. (Nasdaq: SYK) said it would acquire the rival surgical-products maker for $316 million, or $3.85 a share. Volume for Orthovita topped 36.6 million shares, towering over an all-day average of just under 400,000.

In July 2007, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures Fund VII, LP,managed a multi-faceted deal, which was spearheaded by Partner Scott Barry. Essex Woodlands proactively contacted the company about a transaction that would address a number of issues hindering the company’s growth and development. Essex Woodlands led an equity financing of $32.5 million to remove the company’s capital overhang and became the largest shareholder of the company at the time.

The purchase price for the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Orthovita was $3.85/share in cash in a transaction that results in the largest single upfront payment for an orthobiologics company. The purchase price represents a 58% and 67% premium to the 30-day and 60-day volume weighted average prices, for a total value transaction value of approximately $318 million.

Orthovita CEO Antony Koblish commented, “With the innovative financing initiatives which assisted our restructuring and recapitalization efforts exhibited by Essex Woodlands in general… we aggressively and successfully pursued this transaction.”

The acquisition of Orthovita, Inc. marks the third announced exit for Essex Woodlands within the past 30 days.

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Response Genetics Inc. (RGDX) prospers on Q1 results

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Response Genetics Inc. (Nasdaq: RGDX) saw its shares bolt 21.7% higher Thursday to $2.30, on higher first-quarter financial results. Volume for the stock reached 17,703 shares, or nearly six times its full-day average.

The Los Angeles-based company, focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, reported total revenue increased by 60% to $5.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, compared to $3.7 million for the same period last year.

Response Genetics’ net loss for the first quarter was $0.3 million, or $0.01 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million, or a loss of $0.13 per share, for the same period last year.

Kathleen Danenberg, Response Genetics CEO, commented, “We continue to manage the business with operational discipline and ended the first quarter seeing a marked increase in traction for our recently implemented pathology initiative.”

Danenberg continued, “We believe that the pathology initiative, including digital capabilities to integrate pathologists into the ResponseDX™ testing process, increased test offerings to physicians and additional sales representatives will be strong revenue drivers for 2011 as we approach profitability.”

Response Genetics’ technologies enable extraction and analysis of genetic information from genes derived from tumor samples stored as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens.

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DUSA Pharmaceuticals (DUSA) stock spikes on earnings report

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

DUSA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: DUSA) shares rallied 22.5% to $5.55, after the developer of dermatology products reported first-quarter results. Volume for the stock topped 2.2 million shares shortly before Thursday’s close, compared to a daily average of 350,000.

The company, based out of Wilmington, Massachusetts, reported total product revenues were $11.1 million for the quarter, representing a $2.4 million or 27% year-over-year improvement, and experienced a net loss on a GAAP basis of $600,000 or $0.02 per common share for the first quarter of 2011, compared to a net loss of $400,000 or $0.02 per common share in the first quarter of 2010.

According to DUSA Chief Executive Officer Robert Doman, “We are off to a great start in 2011. Continued growth of our core domestic PDT revenues, as well as record gross margins, drove significant year-over-year improvement in our non-GAAP profitability and cash flow.” Doman concluded, “The results of the quarter are even more impressive given the fact that they followed our record performance of the fourth quarter of 2010.”

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated dermatology pharmaceutical company focused primarily on the development and marketing of its Levulan® PDT technology platform, and other dermatology products. Levulan® Kerastick® for topical solution plus DUSA’s BLU-U® Blue Light Photodynamic Therapy Illuminator is currently approved for the treatment of minimally to moderately thick actinic keratoses (AKs) of the face or scalp.

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Kendle International (KNDL) stocks soar on news of acquisition

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq: KNDL) shares rose 57.8% Thursday to $14.99, a day after INC Research LLC said it would acquire the clinical research group for $232 million, or $15.25 a share. Volume for the stock was 3.2 million in the just the first hour of trading, compared to an all-day average around 158,000.

The purchase price represents a 60.5% premium over Kendle’s closing share price on May 4, and a 51.3% premium over the 30-trading day average of Kendle’s closing price. Kendle’s Board of Directors of unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter.

Kendle CEO Stephen Cutler commented, “Joining forces with INC Research is the right decision for our customers and shareholders. Combining our highly complementary assets will provide the scale and scope for the combined company to deliver outstanding global teams, therapeutic expertise and operational excellence for clinical trials of all sizes.”

Concurred INC CEO James Ogle, “The combination of INC Research and Kendle will enable us to deliver broader capabilities and reach a critical mass for the emerging drug development outsourcing and alliance partnership models. Together, we bring complementary strengths and expand the breadth and depth of services and expertise that are most valuable to our customers.”

INC based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a therapeutically focused global contract research organization (CRO) privately held by Avista Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Kendle International, headquartered in Cincinnati, is a leading global clinical research organization providing the full range of early- to late-stage clinical development services for the world’s biopharmaceutical industry.

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